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Are you a fan of actual cardigans? garythenotrashcougar
I can see the genius of them as items of clothing, but I never looked good in a cardigan. Our [former] songwriter and guitar player [Peter Svensson] suggested the name. We were super anglophiles. We loved British music. Our first album is called Emmerdale because the series was shown on Swedish TV every day, titled Home to the Farm. We romanticised something sort of rainy and hazy and woolly … like the cardigan.
I like covers that have a new take on the original, so I really enjoyed your lounge-style version of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. What made you choose that band [Black Sabbath] and song in particular? NotDrivingAMiniMetro
We were big fans – for a heavy band there’s a real pop sentiment in the songwriting – and I think it’s interesting when a cover is a stretch away from your natural sound. As a woman, I thought singing a song done by very manly men gave it a wonderfully creepy aspect. Ozzy [Osbourne] came to see us in Los Angeles and said it was the creepiest thing he’d ever heard, which coming from him is the biggest compliment.
Was there something in the water in Sweden in the 90s that gave rise to the Cardigans, the Wannadies and Stina Nordenstam – some of the happiest “dark” music I’ve ever heard? DomStockton
There are a lot of takes on this – the weather, the sparseness of population – and Abba also had that thing of being happy on the surface but darker underneath. In Sweden, artistic expression was encouraged and we were helped to be creative. When you were eight or nine you were given a free recorder and then other instruments on free loans, so a poor child could play the violin without breaking the bank. Also, like in all countries, the traditional music has a sadness, a harmonic beauty with melancholia. All the kids’ TV shows we grew up with were scored by the best jazz players and musicians, so we were exposed to good quality music very early in our lives.
The Cardigans’ [1995 album] Life sounded completely different to the pop music at the time. What inspired that retro-inspired style? MartWolves
There was a Swedish band called Eggstone who had a studio in Malmö equipped with tape recorders and an old BBC mixing desk. Everything was so aged and clunky but sounded fantastic. When we did our first album there with their producer Tore Johansson it was like a playground for us. We shed our whiny qualities and really found our shape. But when it came out it caused us a bit of trouble because everyone asked us about 60s pop and we didn’t know the references. I was into the Zombies, the Beatles and Nancy Sinatra, but for us it was more about what we could do with that style in the present.
I loved the work you did with Mark Linkous from Sparklehorse. What memories do you have of him or working together? GalaxyOfTheLost
I had a friend crush on him. First I was a straight-up fan. Then he invited me to a concert and I couldn’t believe I had a direct line to my hero. I was really scared, but handed him my demos saying “just listen, whatever”. Then we stayed in touch and became a very odd pair of friends, age wise and culture wise, but something clicked. Musically it sure did. We both appreciated our differences. He was incredibly kind, soft and funny. We had a lovely time, but he also had that side where he was not doing so well mentally, sometimes. He had physical pain in his body and some darkness that wouldn’t leave him alone, for periods, so very early on I felt I had to help him. My husband and I had been struggling to have a baby, then two days after I learned I was finally pregnant, Mark died. It was the biggest win and the biggest loss at the same time, and then we had to perform at that really brutal funeral. I miss him a lot, but we have some of Mark’s instruments from his widow and our son’s middle name is Link, which is really nice because it keeps reminding us of Mark.
Long Gone Before Daylight is one of my favourite albums ever and hearing it at 14 opened my ears to a lifelong love of Americana. What had you been listening to to inspire the shift in direction? laurasnapes
Americana for sure, starting with Fleetwood Mac and the Band, who we called “beard rock”, then getting more into the wood, sea, bearded side of things. I’d already done the [Linkous-produced] A Camp record, which reflected my love of Americana, and I loved Neil Young and Dolly Parton and got deeper into country music. I was really happy that as a Swedish band the rest of the Cardigans also wanted to go in that direction. Before then, I thought sentimental music was cheesy, but I realised you have to open up to sentimentality and rawness from the heart. After the fun, ironic 90s it was a relief to think: “It’s fine. We’re human beings.”
Manic Street Preachers are a famously tightly-knit band who have worked closely together for decades. How did you find collaborating with them and were you able to bring your own input? Hoppo
The song Your Love Alone Is Not Enough was already beautifully written and they just wanted my vocals. There was nothing for me to change at all, but James [Dean Bradfield, singer] came over to New York and we recorded it together, so it was really nice to be in the same room rather than just exchange digital files like many collaborations nowadays. Nicky [Wire] really liked our song Holy Love – there’s a certain recklessness, which may be why they chose me. We had a lot of fun. I love spending time with other tight-knit bands. We all understand that nature doesn’t make creators to remain in the same constellation – childhood friends staying together or whatever – so there’s something very strange and fantastic about it.
You’ve worked with Tom Jones and Manic Street Preachers – what’s with the big love for Wales? Language, cuisine, or the weather? ParisDave
There’s also Cardigan Bay [laughter]. I really like Wales, and touring with James Yorkston I also got to dive deeply into Scotland. I really enjoy the close-knit directness of those communities. Tom Jones [with whom the Cardigans covered Talking Heads’ Burning Down the House] is super sweet and had a real curiosity and joy for what we were doing. When we worked with him, his son was his manager and he brought his best childhood friend along – a bit like the Manics, in a way.
I find your story of overcoming cancer inspiring. I live with a chronic illness (MS) and I find it’s made me more sensitive, more creative yet also more pessimistic about the future. How did illness change you? azapata
Until I was around 30 I’d hardly ever had a cold, so it was really weird at that age to face something with a possibly deathly outcome. My cancer was operable – I didn’t have to deal with chemo and stuff or get very very ill – so I’m very sorry to hear that your illness is chronic because that’s a whole different monster. I think the consolation prize for any kind of suffering is that you can appreciate things – art, for example – in a different way. You realise these things can happen to anyone. I’ve had 15 or 20 years of thinking “I’ve beaten cancer” but now I’m over 50 I’m thinking: it can totally happen to me again.
It’s been 20 years since Super Extra Gravity, my favourite album of yours. Was there something about that record that felt like it was time to stop making music or do you have plans for any more? journowm
We were on a roll making that album and in our enthusiasm decided to make another right away. Then I started to hesitate … Throwing myself into another album and tour cycle would make me another two or three years later in trying to start a family. I said, “Actually, let’s have some time off.” Then I had to go through the cancer as well and we just dropped the ball. The main songwriter eventually lost patience, but the rest of us were excited to keep playing live. Now we have logistics issues – families, day jobs – but do toy with the idea of making new music, whether as the Cardigans or in a different form. We’re all capable of making great music and lately it’s been inspiring to see people like Suede from the 90s making new material. It’s not cringey middle-aged dudes looking hard in leather jackets. It’s really good stuff.
Did you know Neil Hannon was going to namecheck you in the Divine Comedy’s song Sweden? TheManWithoutFear
It was a surprise. I wasn’t asked or told beforehand, but I was a fan of the Divine Comedy and the others namechecked are all pretty brilliant people, so it was super flattering. There are things to say about Ingmar Bergman [the Swedish film colossus was among those namechecked], but there was no real jackass.
The sleeve to the Cardigans’ Life album shows you lying on an icy-looking surface in skates. Do you skate and how would you rate your skills? VerulamiumParkRanger
I trained when I was a teenager, but last winter I trained with a Malmö skating club and got my chops back. There’s a Swedish band called Kite who did a whole concert on ice and I was in the show, on skates. It’s hard as hell to do and fades really fast. A year ago, I was probably at my second best in my life, but now I don’t think I could do it. We did the show with a Finnish team of skaters [Helsinki Rockettes] who are the best in the world, so to train with those ladies was absolutely hilarious.
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